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A year ended without a budget… Iraq is on the verge of economic paralysis and a freeze on services.

Economic expert Ahmed Al-Tamimi warned on Tuesday (November 4, 2025) of serious repercussions that may result from the end of the 2025 fiscal year without the approval of the general budget, noting that continuing to work on the 1/12 monthly spending rule will lead to paralysis in investment and service projects within the country.

Al-Tamimi told Baghdad Today, “The failure to approve the budget will hinder the implementation of government programs, freeze vital projects in various sectors, and force ministries to operate in a transitional manner with limited powers, without the ability to launch new projects or complete those that have been halted.”

He added that “the provinces will be the biggest losers as a result of freezing the release of financial allocations, which will affect public services and job opportunities, and weaken the contribution of the private sector to local development,” noting that “the economic environment will face a decline in the confidence of local and foreign investors due to the absence of a clear financial vision.”

He explained that “the continuation of the current situation will create serious challenges to the state’s financial obligations, especially with regard to salaries, social safety nets and government support, which may lead to an exacerbation of the financial deficit and increased pressure on cash reserves,” calling for “urgent action to approve the budget and establish financial stability before the circle of economic crises widens.”

The Iraqi government is facing delays in approving the 2025 budget due to political and technical disputes over the distribution of revenues and allocations to the provinces. This has prompted the Ministry of Finance to continue with the 1/12 spending rule, meaning that monthly spending is based on the previous year’s budget, which limits the state’s ability to finance new projects and stimulate the economy.

Burathanews.com

Bank of Baghdad announces the formation of its new board of directors as part of the banking reform program.

Bank of Baghdad, one of the leading banks in Iraq, announced the formation of its new board of directors during the ninth extraordinary meeting of the general assembly held on Tuesday, as part of the banking reform program.

The bank stated in a statement that: “During the meeting, the following original members were elected to replace the resigning members: Tamara Hussein Al-Shadidi, Khaled Sharif Al-Hazza, Nidal Faiq Al-Qabaj, and Ahmed Tahseen Al-Ma’la (the authorized manager), and the reserve members: Yazan Bader Kurdi, Salah Muhammad Salim, Baidaa Salem Suleiman, Inas Abdul Rahman Al-Qaisi, Fadi Muhammad Ayad, Zuhdi Bahjat Al-Jayousi, Taha Jaafar, Ghassan Ahmed Salim, and Niran Sabri Ishaq.”

The statement continued: “The new board of directors held its first meeting, during which Abdulkarim Alawi Al-Kabariti was elected chairman of the board, and Dara Nour El-Din was elected vice-chairman.”

In this context, Ahmed Tahseen Al-Ma’la, the bank’s authorized manager, said: “The new board of directors represents a strategic step towards strengthening corporate governance practices and consolidating the principle of separation between ownership and executive management. We are proud to be the first Iraqi bank to implement the new framework of the Central Bank of Iraq, in a step that expresses our firm commitment to developing banking operations in line with the highest international standards.”

Burathanews.com

Sudani: Iraq is an independent partner of the United States

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani affirmed that the upcoming elections represent a turning point between the previous phase of instability and the current phase of security, reconstruction, and services.

In a press interview with Reuters, Al-Sudani stressed the government’s confidence in the people’s awareness in choosing those who adopt a work and achievement approach, far removed from slogans.

He explained that the participation of young people, who constitute (60%) of the population, will be extensive, and that abstaining from voting opens the door for corrupt individuals and reinforces quotas.

Al-Sudani pointed out that the government provided basic services in all governorates and assumed the financial obligations for stalled projects since (2007) with a value of (131) trillion dinars, while his government’s obligations during three years amounted to (33) trillion dinars, with the achievement of financial, banking and economic reforms, and the strengthening of foreign relations.

On the regional and international level, he pointed out that Iraq succeeded in avoiding involvement in the region’s conflicts, maintained balanced relations with everyone, and played a diplomatic role to prevent the expansion of conflicts. It also formed a committee to revive and rehabilitate the oil pipeline between Kirkuk and Banias with Syria.

Al-Sudani explained that the current phase is the clearest in Iraq’s relations with the United States, a balanced relationship built on achieving mutual interests, stressing that Iraq is an independent partner and not an arena for conflict.

Alsabaah.iq

“Wars have hampered it”: A proposal to establish a sovereign wealth fund for Iraq and invest it in development projects.

On Tuesday, the Prime Minister’s advisor, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, proposed the establishment of a domestic sovereign wealth fund to invest its money in development projects, explaining that past wars had prevented Iraq from establishing a sovereign wealth fund.

Saleh told Shafaq News Agency, “My idea is to create and establish an Iraqi sovereign wealth fund, but within the national economy,” noting that “the fund will be responsible for reinvesting the fund’s own returns.”

He added that “the establishment of the fund internally will mean that part of the money will go to the fund itself and the other part will go to the benefit of the national economy within the development program,” noting that “the management of the fund will be through a joint public holding company affiliated with the internal sovereign wealth fund itself, and investment will be made in the joints of the national economy in agriculture, industry, services and available economic opportunities.”

Saleh explained that “Iraq depleted its balance of payments surpluses and consumed them in wars and conflicts during the period from 1980 to 2003, and our country fell into deficit and the trap of external debt,” noting that “until now our country is not considered one of the countries with a financial surplus, and that the reserves of the Central Bank of Iraq, which support the stability of the Iraqi dinar and amount to more than 100 billion, are invested in a very specific investment portfolio, which is almost a sovereign wealth fund.”

He emphasized that “these financial reserves are always semi-liquid and do not enter into long-term investments such as stocks in factories or real estate as other sovereign wealth funds do. Rather, the reserves invest in short-term financial instruments with low interest such as US Treasury bonds and others with a high credit rating of Aaa. They tend to be semi-liquid at all times and low-risk through safe investment but with a usually low or fixed return. However, the foreign reserves of central banks are not considered among sovereign wealth funds (such as the Norwegian, Saudi, Chinese and others currently).”

Saleh pointed out that “sovereign wealth funds were started by countries with surplus raw material exports in general and oil in particular, based on diversifying the investment of those financial surpluses in major economies outside their countries through these funds, whose function is to manage the investment of surpluses in financial assets outside their countries.”

He explained that “the reason behind their investment outside their countries is the weak absorptive capacity, that is, the weak ability to convert those surplus savings from the proceeds of exporting natural resources into investments within the country itself due to internal structural factors,” noting that “those surpluses are investment assets that can be reinvested and generate added value chains that multiply the national income of their countries many times over.”

A sovereign wealth fund, or sovereign wealth funds, is a state-owned fund consisting of assets such as land, stocks, bonds, or other investment instruments. These funds can be described as entities that manage a country’s surpluses for investment and hold billions of dollars that countries invest in stocks and bonds.

Shafaq.com

Iraqi government officially halts fuel imports and decides to divert surplus for export

The Iraqi government decided on Tuesday to stop importing gasoline, gas oil (kerosene), and white oil because local production of these fuels has reached quantities that exceed local consumption rates.

This came in accordance with an official letter issued by the Prime Minister’s office to the Iraqi Ministry of Oil, in order to achieve self-sufficiency in the production of those types of fuel.

According to the letter signed by Ihsan Al-Awadi, Director of the Prime Minister’s Office, dated November 4, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani directed that the import of these oil products be stopped, and that the distribution agent and the Oil Products Distribution Company control domestic consumption and transfer the surplus for export.

On October 25, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani announced that his government had developed a plan to save the state treasury approximately $10 billion by halting imports of gasoline and oil derivatives after achieving self-sufficiency in their production within Iraq.

Shafaq.com

Boycotters… Al-Sadr issues a serious political warning to the international community

The leader of the Shiite national movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, renewed his position on Tuesday to boycott the upcoming Iraqi elections, while a close associate of his confirmed that al-Sadr is not seeking to overthrow the regime, but rather to demand radical reforms.

In a handwritten statement bearing his seal and signature, under the hashtag #Boycott, Al-Sadr stated his position on participating in the elections.

A source close to al-Sadr explained to Shafaq News Agency that “al-Sadr is not seeking to overthrow the regime, but rather to demand radical reforms and to rearrange the political process away from quotas and corruption.”

He added that al-Sadr “wants to send messages to the international community about the need to deal with the boycott as a serious political warning that requires understanding, not ignoring.”

Shafaq.com

Türkiye is using oil as leverage… Expert warns of a “water deal of the century” against Iraq

Water expert Ahmed Al-Saadi warned on Monday (November 3, 2025) of “dangerous bargaining” by Turkey towards Iraq regarding the water issue, indicating that Ankara is trying to impose a new equation based on controlling water projects within Iraqi territory in exchange for obtaining broader oil and commercial concessions.

Al-Saadi told Baghdad Today that “Turkey has moved from the stage of exerting pressure by reducing the flow of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to a more complex stage represented by offering to implement water projects inside Iraq,” explaining that these projects “include the establishment of desalination plants, dams and modern irrigation systems, but they are conditional and serve Ankara’s expansionist goals, and give it direct influence within the Iraqi water infrastructure.”

He explained that “this policy represents a direct threat to national water security and makes Iraq a hostage to unstable political and economic understandings,” adding that “Iraq’s water share has declined by more than 60% in recent years due to the construction of giant dams in Turkey such as (Ilisu) and (Cebban), which has caused the desertification of thousands of hectares and exacerbated unemployment and internal migration.”

Al-Saadi pointed out that “linking the water issue to oil constitutes a dangerous precedent, as water is an existential right that cannot be turned into a commercial bargaining chip,” calling on the Iraqi government to “adopt a more robust diplomatic and legal stance to protect water sovereignty.”

He concluded: “What is happening today is not just a water scarcity crisis, but an attempt to redraw the region’s balances at the expense of Iraq. If the country does not act quickly, its water sovereignty may become a worthless bargaining chip over time.”

This warning comes amid an escalating water crisis between Iraq and Turkey, resulting from Ankara’s continued implementation of its massive projects without binding agreements on water sharing. The operation of dams such as Ilisu and Ceyban has drastically reduced the amount of water reaching Iraq, exacerbating drought and desertification in large parts of the country, declining agricultural production, and increasing rural-to-urban migration.

Burathanews.com

Trump warns of “lunatics” taking over the US Senate

On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump called on Senate Republicans to get rid of their veto power, warning that failure to do so would increase the chances of “crazy” Democrats taking control of Congress.

Trump wrote on his Truth Social page: “The Democrats are likely to win the midterm elections and the next presidential election if we do not end the policy of obstruction (the nuclear option!), because it will be impossible for Republicans to implement common-sense policies with the crazy Democrats able to block everything by withholding their votes.”

He added: “For three years, nothing will pass, the Republicans will be blamed, and the elections, including the midterm elections, will be absolutely brutal. But if we end the stalling, we will get everything approved, like no Congress has ever done in history.”

Trump explained that “we will have fair, free, and secure elections, no men in women’s sports or transgenderism, there will be strong borders, and big tax and energy cuts.”

He added: “If we don’t do that, the Democrats are likely to do well in the next election, which means a packed Supreme Court (increasing the number of Supreme Court justices), two more states, four more Democratic senators (D.C. and Puerto Rico), and eight more electoral votes.”

The US president noted that “Democrats had previously tried to amend the filibuster policy to pass voting rights legislation, but they failed by two votes.”

Trump urged Senate Republicans to use the “nuclear option” by eliminating the overwhelming majority vote requirement to pass legislation and end the government shutdown, as the United States continues to face a government paralysis due to the lack of an agreement in Congress.

Through this call, Trump seeks to eliminate an existing rule that allows 41 out of 100 senators to block any bill from being discussed or voted on, a procedural tool that has been adopted by both parties in the past.

The “filiation” or “obstruction of legislation” rule forces Democrats and Republicans to find common ground.

Because of the 60-vote threshold, Trump’s party must secure the support of a number of Democratic members in the Senate in order for the budget bill to be adopted, even if it has a majority in both chambers.

Shafaq.com

Johnson admits failure in Iraq: The invasion was a mistake and there was no Plan B.

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has publicly admitted that the 2003 invasion of Iraq was a “moral mistake,” in one of the most candid admissions by a senior British official about the failures of the Iraq War.

A report in the Turkish newspaper Yeni Şafak quoted Johnson as admitting during a television interview that “the coalition forces did not have a strategy to manage the affairs of Iraq after the invasion, which led to dire consequences for this country.”

The Turkish report, translated by Shafaq News Agency, noted that “Johnson’s confessions are remarkable, as he described the actions of the coalition forces around Iraq as morally wrong, and acknowledged a catastrophic lack of planning for the post-invasion period.”

Johnson also pointed out during the interview that “British and American forces have not developed a coherent strategy for governing Iraq after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein’s regime.”

The translated report indicated that “the British Prime Minister explained how the coalition forces dismantled the administrative structures in Iraq, without having any alternative strategy.”

The report quoted Johnson as saying, “We had absolutely no plan for who would replace Saddam. We eliminated the entire Baath Party and the entire ruling elite,” indicating that “this complete uprooting of the ruling institutions created a power vacuum and plunged the country into chaos and violence.”

According to Johnson, as quoted in the report, this approach represented a “complete moral failure,” and that British and American diplomats “operated without clear guidance.”

Johnson explains that when he inquired at the time about the plan that had been prepared, he was told, “We are going on a trip,” which represents “an admission that British officials did not have a concrete vision for the future of Iraq, and this led to the collapse of institutions after the country was left without effective governance mechanisms,” according to the newspaper report.

The Turkish report recalled that the invasion of Iraq caused the deaths of approximately 461,000 people between 2003 and 2011, adding that “the conflict radically reshaped the political landscape in Iraq and generated divisions that persist to this day.”

The Turkish report concluded by saying that “Johnson’s remarks represent one of the most candid admissions by a senior British official about the strategic and moral failures of the Iraq War.”

Shafaq.com